La Vida Loca (The Mad Life)

[stingingnettle]

Once again we find ourselves in the smothering grip of televised piety. Our TV screens are oozing salvation to keep us distracted from the madness that surrounds us. On empty stomachs, we seek ways to kill the only thing we can often lawfully kill – TIME. In the holy month of fasting, everything seems so slow; even death takes its time in coming except if you are a Palestinian living in Gaza. Western media often finds it expedient to change “murder” to “killing”, especially when it serves to soften the impact of sudden death delivered via missiles by Israel to a people living in abject captivity in their own land. In order to make murder more palatable to western sensitivities, when a missile rips through a house in Gaza killing all 8 innocent inhabitants, it is called a ‘mistake’. In our vidas locas, one death can be worth a hell lot more than one life. In a time and place of irrationality, we are told to bear our tribulations with fortitude and courage as justice and fine living awaits us in the after-life. I will leave you to figure that one out as is not my intention to help you make up your mind.

Those who complain of Israeli brutality can at times suffer from a strange kind amnesia; shall I begin real close to the skin? Does Model Town Lahore ring any bells? A contingent of Punjab Police, led by a known thug and criminal, attacks unarmed men and women with the ferocity and violence rarely seen anywhere in the world. We witnessed on our TV screens, as is the curse of our mad lives, in live – the savage beatings and cold blooded murder of ordinary citizens. The horrific images are played over and over on our TV screens for 9 hours and the man in charge, CM Shahbaz Sharif, says he was unaware of what was happening. Despite hundreds of hours’ worth of graphic and clear evidence, Shahbaz finds it hard to ‘see’ who is culpable, so in true Pakistani tradition, a commission is established to fornicate with truth and time until all is forgotten. Could I ask everyone holding a stone to put it down please; you do not really want to walk on broken glass.

If unlawful death was a commodity, Karachi would be a factory. It is hard to pay attention to single-digit deaths in Karachi anymore; the grim reaper works overtime to earn our condemnation and sorrow when double-digit deaths visit the city with clockwork regularity. What surprises me is our determined insistence on seeking divine solutions to human misery; so we keep counting our prayers on date stones that slip through our fingers into a large heap of anaesthetic fatalism. We suffer from selective outrage simply because we can. In a land where our jails have classes, it is utterly stupid to suggest that all lives are worth the same number of deaths. Rich and powerful politicians spend time in comfortable and classy jail rooms to boost their credentials as leaders. The dire hypocrisy we live under is the exact thing we accuse others of on the international scene. The obvious thing to say would be, let us fix our own house first – but what is the point of that? Anyone can state the obvious.

Is it not obvious that the thousands of people murdered, tortured and jailed in Egypt have little to show for their sacrifices? You will need an electron microscope to discern the change that has happened in Egypt from Mubarak to Sissi – an Egyptian desire for freedom and democracy has died at birth; strangled by the ‘sacred’ military octopus. There are many myths that surround Egyptian military but the only wars they have won have been against their own people.

Sadly Egypt is not unique in this sense; everywhere in the Islamic world; state of the art weapons bought from the West and East are almost exclusively used to kill and maim people who paid for these weapons through taxes for their own protection. Have you ever heard of a developed Western nation bombing its own people with fighter jets? How has it come to pass that the bombs that rain from the sky over Pakistanis, Iraqis and Syrians, for example, are courtesy of their own governments?

The campaign of indiscriminate murder that Israel is conducting in Gaza and West Bank is truly reprehensible but it is not very different from what many Islamic countries are doing to their own people. All human life is valuable; in my perfect world, I imagine the life of an Iraqi, a Brit, an Israeli and a Pakistani to be equal – worthy of respect and protection. As a human, I suspect we are born with an innate ability to seek perfection; so I will not give up on hope yet.

It is time to return to my vida loca and so must you.

[Shimatoree]

Sting

As always very well written.............as I have said before give some thought to writing and getting paid for it.

All politics is local...........goes a famous saying.
So the happenings in Gaza, Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia. Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia etc etc and tehir effect say in Pakistan goes to show the bankrupcy of the concept of UMMAH today. And those who use it as a political slogan are mere charlatans or just simple fools.

The North Waziristan operation has once again brought to light the issue of incompetence at all levels of the Pakistani set up.

No thought.
No Planning.
No execution.
No foresight.

That applies to the bafoons of the PML-N as well as the armed forces which have carried this much ballyhood operation while allowing all the culprits to escape.
An arm chair field marshall like me can think of the fundamental strategy of trapping and capturing the ring leaders of the TTP and it was doable.

The good horse I see I am going to name him Incompetence after the Shareef brothers and Gen. Raheel Shareef.

What took place in Model Town is despicable but what is far more depressing is the reaction or lack there of by the population as well as the political leaders.
Believe it or not the success of the PML-N propaganda machine in Lahore is such that a lot of people are blaming TUQ for the killings even though he was not there in the country.

Spiritual Putrefaction and intellectual degeneration.

It might be mad life but it stinks to high heaven.

[stingingnettle]

Shimatoree sahib;

Thank you for your very kind words; I think I get too angry to write for money but you never know, one day soon, I might follow your suggestion.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you say else where that Model Town incident was Pakistan's Bastille moment; sadly you are right also in saying that we either have or are on the verge of squandering it. Why a few Police stations in Lahore have not been razed to the ground beats me totally. The sheer callousness of our 'brave' men in uniform was the clearest indication that the only way forward is civil disobedience. To expect anything from the existing system which allows the like of Sharifs and Zardari to become our rulers is to expect a good spray of petrol to put out a fire. The system needs to be dismantled starting from the Constitution.

14 August 2014 will either be remember as our day of emancipation or as the day when we lost the war of freedom for good. I hope IK will NOT negotiate at all with the Govt and stick to his own plan. TUQ will do well to set the same date for his revolution. The degree of putrefaction within Pakistan society is the worst kept secret. The true minority in Pakistan are those people who live a clean and lawful life.

Lets see if get some sanity back in our vidas locas. What do you think will happen on the 14 of August?

[Shimatoree]

Sting

If Past is Prologue……………then Imran and PTI will again compromise in the name of JUM HOOR YUT and saving the system…..because that is what he has been doing since April 2011.

Why that date ?

On that date I met the man for 50 minutes….one on one. He agreed to meet me because I knew some of his close relatives who arranged it.
I actually went to see him for getting some hospital time at Shaukat Khanum Hospital and I thought I would size him up……….after all I AM a student of not only political and military history but also of the evolution of military matters as such. Some of my fiends and relatives asked me to SCAN the man to see if he HAD it what I was looking for…………and I was looking for a Sher Shah Suri or someone like that.

Once I started asking questions, I noticed that he became impatient, and uncomfortable. I had my son with me who is a software programer and is a great observer of human behavior and he was watching while I was asking my questions.
Someday I will write about that meeting in more detail but suffice it to say that I did not find a decisive Sher Shah Suri.
Perhaps that was because he felt uncomfortable with the line of questioning. But when you talk with someone, I watch their eyes, there facial expressions and their body movements as though I was a CAT. Being in medicine, with 45 plus years of talking to and watching people, I had a bit of an advantage.

I found him to be honest and a person with courage. Since then a lot of what he has done has shown that he wants to play ball under the rules….and that in my view disqualifies him from becoming a Sher Shah.

For example I asked him what plans he had if he did become PM and he replied that his team had made plans and they were ready to be put in place the day he gets in that position. TIME has shown that NOT to be the case.
For example I asked him if he had good and capable people on his team and as to who they were. He replied that there were a lot of very capable and competent people who will become known once he gets into the position.
I commented that Sher Shah Suri was a great leader because he surrounded himself with great captains and gave them full authority to do what they thought was right.

Since then he has compromised and compromised again and again. Perhaps those decisions are politically correct and have been expedient but if I might define leadership………….

…..it is decisiveness and the ability to Inspire.

I am not his advisor…..and if I was I would have probably been fired by now………….but I would have advised NOT to meet with Nawaz Shareef………..not to appoint Pervez Khattak as CM in KPK…not to appoint the short fat dark skinned lady with the screechy voice as his spokesperson esp after her rather strange behavior prior to that.
I am not privy to what is going on there but I guess that he is listening to too many people.

14th August is the final Test.
I know for a fact from the street in South Punjab and KPK that man in the street is fed up with his vacillating about dealing with PML-N. He gave a good speech in Bahawalpoor but then again he started telling that he was still willing to go back to the original position .

I am not impressed by KPK govt.'s excuses about not being ready for the IDP problem following the military operation. The KPK govt has their sources and even though they were not officially told that the operation was about to start…….. they should have known and planned and been ready.
Stops and starts again and again is the problem with Imran and his PTI. Now he has another player in the field….TUQ.
And I know Mirza Ghalib does not like TUQ and I certainly do not think much of his style but you have to give it to the guy………….he is showing that he means it this time and his followers are determined and devoted people.
So now Imran is between the rock and a hard place………….if he does not come out swinging…………then his political future is finished.
If that were to happen…..it would make me very sad and I will lose all hope because Imran is good man and cares a great deal about Pakistan. He has some of the qualities that a leader ought to have but for some unknown reason lacks the " COURAGE" of his CONVICTIONS.

Ever since that afternoon in April 2011 , I have been sitting by the phone expecting that I would get a call from his office. But what does anyone want with an old guy with white hair who is blunt to the extreme.

I think from a practical stand point……the PML-N govt. will use similar tactics as model town or some modification of it. the ball then will be in Imran's court.

Let us hope that he smashes it………….but will he ?

Will he continue to expect Blood from Turnips as he has been.

Or will he accept the old saying………..that " In Tilon Mein Tale Nahin hai "

If I was advising him-( and I am not) every day from now till 14th I would be planning and planning and planning a Bastille day. I would work out all the logistics and I would have my spies in all sections of the PML-N. I would have my dis-information campaign ready…………and make NO DEAL with the bastards.

I hope my wishes come true.

[Mirza Ghalib]

Stingingnettle, superb as ever and in your own special voice. And touching, too, seeing the timing. You vindicated Shimatoree's faith in your loyalty to Pakistan. I'm most grateful. Now it but remains for Resurrected to do the same.

After which lines, the crux of the matter. Gaza is in shambles after the entire world, starting with the Muslim world, have decided to ignore their plight. And what of Pakistan and the Independance Day rendez-vous with Fate we've set ourselves? So far, it's unclear. Nawaz Sharif is trying to drag in the army to stop us. He's apparently asking PPP bigwigs to join his cabinet to put an end to the "derailment of democracy" the way he defines it. If democracy means corruption without end and death to the poor, then he's perfectly right to tremble in his boots.

So how will Imran counter all this? Shimatoree's criticism at this point is wholly legitimate. However, I point out once again that those accusing IK of U-turns are wrong about the offer he made to PMLN to call off the 14th August march if they agreed to his conditions. This offer he'd made already at the Bahawalpur jalsa. Go back, listen to it and you'll see I'm right. Accuse him of being wishy-washy, it doesn't bother me. But let us stick to the facts while doing so.

That Shim finally decided to give us a brief summary of his meeting with the man in 2011 moved me a great deal. It was on that date that my own fate was decided as well. On Shim's confirmation of his inherent honesty, I threw in my lot with IK as well. And have never regretted it a single second since. Like it or not, he's changed Pakistan from top to bottom. And mainly he's got on his side the most precious segment of our Population, the idealistic youth of our country. Never fear, we're not going to lose the battle for Pakistan. What will happen on April 14, I cannot predict. But the lines have been drawn very strictly. And with Shaikh Rashid's words ringing in our ears: "Qurbani se pehle, qurbani ho ga" we will all move forward. In other words, before the end of the year the PMLN govt will be out of our sight.

A word on TUQ before I leave you. Shim's right. I detest the bloke. But what happened in Model Town was so so catastrophic in intention and operation that I have softened my stance to the extent that I do not oppose his joining us in our protest movement any longer. The trouble with him is that I've never heard him say anything to the point so far. I shudder to think what he would do to Pakistan if by any chance he got his hands on the country.

And one question for Shim as well: For the first time I hear you clearly state here your opposition to Parvaiz Khattak. Do you think the other Khattak, Manzoor Sharif, would have been a better choice for KPK? I've been promoting that man myself for quite sometime now. But I don't dislike Parvaiz either. Why can't people come together for the good of Pakistan?

[stingingnettle]

Shimatoree Sahib;

For me the essence of your view on 14 August 2014 is captured in the following quote;

"I found him to be honest and a person with courage. Since then a lot of what he has done has shown that he wants to play ball under the rules...."

I would add intelligence and pragmatism to that. Unfortunately political pragmatism can often turn out be a euphemism for 'lets not rock the boat too hard, lest we should all sink.' I think from his pragmatism comes his declared intention to play by the rules and I, like you, think it is a mistake. A year ago, I vehemently held that we must reject the Elections 2013 outright and come out on to the streets - and to some extent we did but PTI leadership called it off because there were 'legal' channels available for redress. This is where the critical fault lies; today Imran Khan will tell you that he made a mistake about the ex Chief (In)Justice of Pakistan when he trusted him to deliver justice but a year back he sincerely believed that it was possible to get justice.

I cannot remember when was the last time Pakistan's courts delivered justice specially that of the speedy kind and I think PTI's top leadership's desire to avoid accusations of unlawful behaviour was a hell lot stronger than doing what was manifestly the need of the moment.

Here is simple question; why do the Sharifs, Gillanis and Zardaris of Pakistan always triumphantly ask their accusers to go to court when questions are asked about corruption, nepotism and incompetence? Parvaiz Rasheed is another ones who often asks people to go to court when he is in a sticky situation. The reason is as simple as the question; they all know that Pakistani courts have the same relationship with justice as neutered donkeys have with procreation. I imagine that IK and the people that surround him would have known and understood about the dire corruption and ineffectiveness of our courts so to wait one year to find the answer to a rhetorical question was, quite frankly, more than just a lapse of judgement. Once the iron has cooled down, it is a hell lot harder to re-heat it - this is mountain we are faced with today.

I think IK is not perfect, like many other great leaders, but he is by far our best shot of taking the bull by the horn. In your account of your meeting with IK, you are fundamentally concerned about a lack of preparedness, ie what do after true democracy have been won; I second you on the critical importance of covering all possible contingencies through careful and meticulous planning. A ruthless kind pragmatism is what PTI needs; if anyone does not perform, get rid of them and let someone else have a go. Hasan Nisar said it brilliantly recently; he said something to the effect that 'I do not know what is wrong with us, we fall in love with our leaders.' He is spot on right, no hero worship, no love and certainly no reverentialism - just plain old 'deliver' or leave. This applies to IK as well.

The jamhoor of Pakistan have got to stop piggy-backing on excuses and conspiracy theories to every si failure in their lives and stop praying harder for survival. If you want to drink sweet tea, put some sugar in it. On 14 August I hope people can come out and collective break their 67 years fast of truth and self-help.

My advice to IK would be; pull up the drawbridge of dialogue and let the foot soldiers do their job. PML N will squeal and squirm and make more and more promises of concessions as we get closer to our Bastille day; the answer from IK should always be, 'talk to the hand because the face ain't listening.'

[stingingnettle]

MG Sahib;

It is always a pleasure to read you comments. Your faith in IK is not misplaced but there is an important caveat; it is people who bring about revolutions not leaders. You are right to suggest that the backbone of any change is our youth and I sincerely hope they will come out in force to change the most important thing about their lives - their FUTURE.

Taking down Sharif government is not the final objective but merely a small step in our long journey to give Pakistanis hope, opportunity, justice and dignity. I have not changed my fundamental opinion about TUQ but my heart goes out to the victims of Model Town who did not deserve to be killed and maimed by uniformed Punjab Police. I see no reason why PTI and PAT cannot join forces to bring about institutional reform as long as TUQ does not demand a theocracy in the wake of post 14 August Pakistan.

Pakistan's problem remains the Constitution. No change is possible in Pakistan with the current Constitution. Our real challenge is to write a Constitution that is both practical, realistic and unambiguous. The fact that it is virtually impossible to disqualify the likes of Zardari, Falzu and Sharifs on grounds of articles 62 and 63, speaks volumes about why our politicians love it so much. My advice to TUQ and IK is simple; scrap the Constitution and take a highly courageous step and remove salvation as a business of the state.

If nothing happens on 14 August then Pakistanis will only have themselves to blame. It is not possible to make a horse drink.

The madness that surrounds us will eventually consume us both as a country and as a nation. Those looking for an easy ride to and from 14 August 2014 must get of the bus right now.

[Shimatoree]

Mg

On Pervez Khattak…………..let us first keep in mind that it was the Khattaks who betrayed Khushal Khan to the Mughals…..
………..Pervez Khattak was a candidate chosen because he could get Sher Pao and his party into the coalition to form the KPK govt. At the time numbers were needed and it was a politically pragmatic decision to bring forth a PTI govt in KPK. I know this for a fact. The younger PTI guys were adamant that he should not be the CM but Imran over ruled them and they swallowed hard and went along. Of course as a reward he got MNA and MPA positions for his family members(female)-.
It is not that I like or dislike him, but he is a technocrat, no imagination.
MG you seem to be always coming up with Alibis and excuses for all these guys and I am forced to counter that which puts me in a bad position of an eternal critic for criticism's sake but what the Hell here goes again.
It is one year and Pervez Khattak has been CM. When he came there was one issue of power generation and of course water. He could have PLANNED-( old army general again)- as to the construction of many many earth filled dams on many Nallahs and creeks to save water and make small power generation units. It does not take much money, and the technology is simple. By now he could have had 1000 such units ready. More than that this would have been visible and the people of KPK would have all become members of PTI. All the monsoon water that is wasted would have been saved and restoration of the ground water started. People from overseas were ready to come on board with money etc.
So my question to you is why the Hell he did not do it……………and mind you that is just one thing and I have a whole packet of things that he has not done.

Yes Imran is honest and courageous but a lot of people qualify for that basis. What I have said about Pervez Khattak applies to him also and more so since he told me that he had his plans ready and they were going to hit the road running.
Did he not know what I was asking or was he just trying to MOLIFY an old physician who knows nothing about politics and was asking too many pointed questions which were un related.

My reply to Sting started with what will happen on 14th of August.

Shall I repeat………..Past is Prologue!

[Shimatoree]

Sting

thanks again.

You have rightly pointed out the edict of Hassan Nisar that we need to stop ADULATION of leaders and ask them to either produce or kick them out.

Well that must apply to Imran also.....and it should have nothing to do with his cricket or anything else.

I can place an indictment here and now for you.

He did not PLAN for what he knew was coming based on what the PML-N had done in the past.
Yes he did get hurt but even that was because of lack of planning and organization and a deliberate thought process. I had gone to Pakistan 2 weeks before the election and had repeatedly told one of his close operatives in Islamabad that he needed to fix the Podium during his speeches. Now how much more specific could I get.
Did my message get through..........probably not as the Hulla Bloo and euphoria of the time is what occupied the attention of the people around him.
Election was held in May 2013. I had told Imran and asked him about his planning and organization. Since I had NO CREDIBILITY-( I was only an Old white haired doctor and knew nothing about Pakistani politics) so my message was discarded because the MESSENGER was not credible. Right there I learned something about Imran that I did not think would apply to him and I did not like it because I had this sense of FOREBODING.
Now we may give him a pass because he was hurt very badly and the others in his party were either incapable or not in a position to take over. THAT was bad really bad as in WAR-( and it was War)- if the leader falls( and he did ) the next in line takes over and carries on the task at hand.
After the election he decided to go for KPK govt and my comments to Mirza Ghalib apply here.
If you know that the other guys are crooks and are thives and have stolen the election..........why in the HELL would you accept them and agree with them.
The meeting with Nawaz at his house and how he was shown in that famous image makes me sick.
Politics is WAR and in WAR you cover all bases. For those that do not know Baseball...........in WAR you plan for victory and you plan for adversity.
What the Hell happened to the planning ?

Big mistake to try and have a party election just 3 months before and then under the guise to show that PTI was a democratic party.....completely disrupting and causing a great deal of enmity between various factions in the localities.

I could go on but that is quite enough.

The fundamental question is will he stand his ground and will he again be BAMBOOZLED by PML-N by them using the BUGA BHOO of TUQ.

Imran is NOW in a very difficult position. The forces of Corruption are beginning to GEL together against him and he will need all his fortitude and his strength to stand firm.

Will he or will he once again succumb to MUFAH MUT ?

I do not know. I just hope he has learned his lessons.
This is the RUBICON and he has no choice but to cross it........but my question is what will he do after he crosses the Rubicon.
Has he planned for THAT. ?

And there in lies the answer which at present is well hidden.

Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion.-( Arthur Kessler )-

[Mirza Ghalib]

Shim let me answer my part of your message to us. Firstly, I didn't know that historically the Khattak family has the reputation of being traitors to the cause. Shall remember it for future reference. Sorry i've acquired the Reputation of a being a supplier of alibis for the IK cause. I assure you I'm no hero worshipper. Have Long left behind me the age at which such things are common. I rail and rant against IK as much as anyone else. But I do know the man is stubborn and once he's made up his mind, he refuses to budge. At the same time, he seems to have acquired a reputation for U-turns. Or so the media portrays him. So let's sum it up by saying he's all things to all men.

I'm sorry now I asked you that question about Pervaiz Khattak. Shall refrain from doing so in future. The Sher Pao bit you'd already explained to us earlier on. That he's a technocrat is a fair enough judgement. The part about small units of water power generation went straight to my heart, I was expecting them to so something like that and there was a lot of talk about it when they first came to power. And then it all fizzled out. What we have been left with is a lot of legislation which might come in handy in years ahead. But that essentials were overlooked is unforgivable all the same.

But there we have it. IK is a rule-of-law, institutions person. And this tends to blind him to other priorities. Nothing any of us can do about it.

So let's see what the future, starting with August 14, holds in store for poor battered Pakistan which deserved better from all of us.

[Shimatoree]

Mg

The bit about Khattacks-( a tribe) was more of a POLEMIC than anything else. all tribes have had their Mir Sadiqs and Mir Jaffars as in all things human there are those that SELL and there are those that take a stand. After all Yazid and Muawiyah were from Banu Umayyad of the Quresh to which tribe the Holy Prophet ( PBUH)- also belonged.
At the risk of being labelled a Heretic or some such epithet………my great Hero-( character)- in human terms in the sub continent is Rana Partap of Chitor………..who preferred to eat out of leaves and sleep on stones rather than cooperate with Akbar the Great Mughal who offered him anything and everything.

The bit about the small Earthen dams was a mere slogan by the CM of KPK and nothing was ever thought off and thus nothing was done. The projects would have been so simple that I , a non-engineer could get it done with the help of the local farmers and tribesmen.

So , I re state my pet pete…………..lack of Planning due to lack of thought.

14th of August………….let us not put too many hopes up because I am sure our hopes will be dashed again with some sort of a deal!